REAL pondering bid to host world women’s hockey championship

After a successful WHL hub experience, Evraz Place is looking at possibly hosting another major hockey event.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) women’s world hockey championship was set to take place in Nova Scotia from May 6 to 16. But that province recently announced the cancellation of the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, the IIHF announced it will stage the tournament Aug. 20-31 in a site that is to be determined.

Regina Exhibition Association Limited CEO Tim Reid says Regina would welcome the tournament.

“We as Regina will definitely actively take a look at any opportunity we’d have to bid on that event and we hope Hockey Canada would take a look,” Reid said.

Reid said REAL had been in discussions with Hockey Canada about possibly holding the tournament at some point in the future, but not necessarily this year.

“Obviously with the news (Friday), perhaps there’s more opportunity and urgency around it. So we have our team reaching out and starting to assemble what a Regina bid could look like,” Reid said. “Even if the decision by Hockey Canada is to go somewhere else this year, our goal is that it’s a tournament that we would like to see.”

And having the WHL East Division hub go off without issue at the Brandt Centre can possibly give Regina a leg up on the competition when it comes to a bid.

“We just completed a magnificent world-class event and I think we can always point to that and speak to our abilities. Many other communities didn’t have that same success,” Reid said.

Reid said the entertainment industry could see a boom once more countries emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If this time away from others, away from public gatherings, away from live music and live sport has taught us anything, it’s that those are moments and memories that we take for granted,” Reid said.

“The data that we see globally and the data we see with consumer confidence in Canada suggests that when the sports and entertainment live event marketplace turns back on and the recreational market place turns back on, it will be met with greater success than ever.”

He points to events happening in countries where there are fewer COVID cases that are holding concerts with more than 50,000 people attending as an indicator of how badly people want to re-engage with live events.

And so Reid continues to put in work to help Regina host major events for years to come.

“We’re bidding on events in 2022 and 2023, 2024 and beyond because we recognize that 2019 was a banner year and we want to get back to those days,” Reid said.